The Didi Man by Dietmar Hamann

The Didi Man by Dietmar Hamann

Author:Dietmar Hamann [Dietmar Hamann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Sports, Sports & Recreation, Soccer
ISBN: 9780755362820
Google: qD1J-wd9xDsC
Amazon: B00713DNI0
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2012-02-02T00:00:00+00:00


There are moments in your life that are turning points, whether it’s your day-to-day life or your football life. Do footballers have moments when they suddenly realise they can make it? I certainly did. In truth, when I first got into the team at Bayern I was not really ready, physically or mentally. I still felt intimidated by the older players and I didn’t really feel as though I was a proper part of things.

Even though I was in the same team as amazing players such as Oliver Kahn, Christian Ziege, Markus Babbel, Mehmet Scholl, Jurgen Klinsmann, Lothar Matthaus and Jean-Pierre Papin, I just didn’t see myself as being in their league. I should have really. Anyone that gets their name on the same teamsheet as those guys should feel pretty made up. Yet I didn’t feel like I should have been there. But with players like that around good things inevitably happen and we made it to the 1996 UEFA Cup final against Bordeaux, which was a two-legged tie. This was a pretty amazing thing for a twenty-two year old, but it doesn’t always register with you when you are young.

The first leg was at our own Olympic Stadium and we won comfortably 2–0. In the second leg at the Stade du Parc Lescure in Bordeaux, I felt I was having a really good game and was enjoying it as we went 2–0 up on the night and 4–0 up on aggregate. I felt relaxed and comfortable, partly due to the comfortable lead we had built up. Then I had a remarkable realisation as I looked around and began to soak up the situation as we had eased the pressure on ourselves with a commanding lead. For the first time really, I felt that I belonged in this sort of arena. As I looked up it suddenly dawned on me that I was playing against Zinedine Zidane, who was on his way to being ranked as the greatest player on the planet three times. Also on the field were Christophe Dugarry and Bixente Lizarazu, who just two years later would be World Cup winners along with Zidane. Not just that, but I was playing well and felt totally at ease in this illustrious company. It was as if a light bulb had switched on in my head. From that moment I felt mentally, physically and emotionally ready. I was going to be a successful footballer regardless of the thoughts of the senior players.



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